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Better security measures and facilities for Senai Airport10 Jul 2017, by The Star Online

Tee (left) with state Tourism Department director Mohd Shukri Mohd Masbah (right) and Senai Airport Terminal Services Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Md Derick Basir (third from left) during a walkabout at the airport.

KULAI: The upgrading of Senai International Airport here will see more security features once the construction is completed by the end of August.

Johor Tourism, Domestic Trade and Consumerism Committee chairman Datuk Tee Siew Kiong said the upgrading project started in October last year and was now at the 80% completion mark.

He said the focus of the RM7mil upgrade was to improve the airport’s security such as installing 74 additional closed-circuit television (CCTV) units in and around the building and the separation of domestic and international flight passengers.

He said the airport currently does not segregate domestic and international passengers, which does not meet the safety standards and this upgrade would change that.

“The airport upgrade is also necessary to cater to its increasing passenger volume following the introduction of new destinations and flight frequency,” Tee said during his walkabout at the airport.

He said in the first six months of this year, the airport recorded a passenger volume of 1.54 million people compared to 1.36 million people in the same period last year.

The airport saw an increase in passenger volume of 12.8% to 2.82 million people last year from 2.58 million people in 2015.

The renovation, said Tee, includes adding eight check-in and baggage counters, more food and beverage outlets, flight information display system, and luggage scanning machines.

“We are confident that the airport will be able to fulfil passengers’ needs in the state’s efforts to attract more from second-tier cities such as those in China, India, Japan and South Korea to fly to Johor Baru,” he said.

The airport currently caters to flights to and from 11 domestic and five international destinations with a frequency of 610 flights weekly.